Hand stamping stencil holder



Jam. 26, 1954 Filed April 28, 1952 INVEN 0R.

Patented Jan. 26, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT HAND STAMPING STENCIL HOLDER James R. Thomas, Deerfield, Ill., assignor to Joseph A. Weber, Mount Prospect, Ill.

Application April 28, 1952, Serial No. 284,779

3 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved hand stamping stencil holder.

In the shipping of packages from a shipping department of manufacturing companies wherein there are numerous packages constituting a single order which is being directed to a single customer, it is desirable to prepare and make a stencil which includes the name and address of the consignee or purchaser. Such a stencil is preferably of the type employed in duplicating processes and is impressed on each of the packages comprising the single order or at least all of the packages and parcels which are to be sent to the one customer. Ihe packages may have irregular surfaces and invariably do. Thus with ordinary stencils or hand stamping devices, it is extremely difficult to obtain a legible reproduction of the stencil on each of the packages.

It is therefore a principal object of the present invention to provide a hand stamping stencil holder which will cause an even and uniform impression on irregular surfaces.

An important object of this invention is the provision of means in a stencil holder wherein the stencil is loosely held without binding and may be easily replaced by other stencils.

Another important object of this invention is to supply a stencil holder having a relatively deep yieldable pressure pad under the stencil held therein for the purpose of accommodating relatively irregular and rough surfaces.

Another and further important object of this invention is to provide a hand stamping stencil holder in which the parts are relatively easily removable and wherein the pressure pad consists of a very soft and pliable sponge synthetic rubber pad held in centered position by means of an endless band of inked cloth Without the aid of cements or adhesives which would cause binding or distortion of the pad and wherein the stencil is loosely held over the soft pressure pad.

Another and still further important object of this invention is to supply a hand stamping stencil holder with relatively widely spaced inwardly and downwardly turned flange means for removably receiving a stencil and having an inked pressure pad located centrally between the wide spaced flanges and adapted to exert a uniform pressure against the stencil held by the wide spaced flanges.

A still further important object of this invention is to provide a hand stamping stencil holder with the several parts thereof quickly disassembled and readily put together with a single screw means to hold the entire unit in rigid assembled relationship.

Other and further important objects will become apparent from the disclosures in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is an end view of the hand stamping stencil holder of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the device as shown in Fig. l with the stencil removed.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

As shown in the drawings:

The reference numeral It! indicates generally a frame or support upon which the stencil holder of this invention is built. A handle it in the form of a hand gripping knob is provided with a downwardly extending screw 39 in substantially the center thereof for engagement with the frame member Iii.

The frame l0 includes a relatively fiat back portion l2 flanked by downwardly and outwardly bent portions 13 and 14. Each of the inclined portions l3 and M is further provided with inwardly and downwardly bent flanges 15 and 16 respectively. These inwardly and downwardly inclined flanges 15 and 16 are relatively widely spaced apart with their inner edges disposed parallel one to the other. It is the inwardly and downwardly inclined flanges l5 and I6 directed toward each other which comprise the means for loosely holding a stencil in the stamping device of this invention. The frame 40 may then be said to constitute a stencil holding frame. The stencil indicated by the numeral I! is shown in Fig. 1 wherein one edge l8 projects over the inclined flange l5 and within the V-shaped notch formed by the adjoining flange portions l3 and I5 of the stencil holding frame It. The opposite and parallel disposed edge 19 of the stencil I! is positioned over the lip or flange IS on the opposite side of the stencil holding frame I0 and is positioned within the V-shaped notch formed by the adjoining flange portions i4 and I6 of the frame It. The stencil I! is made of relatively resilient paper stock material and the slight bending of the opposite edge portions [8 and IQ for nestling within the V-shaped notches in the holder frame it] causes the stencil to be held sufficiently for the imprinting of the material from the stencil.

Intermediate the stencil holding flanges there is provided a channel or U-shaped bracket 29 made preferably of metal such as steel. The channel shaped bracket 2!] includes a perforated bottom 2| and upwardly extending spaced apart perforated side walls 22 and 23. The upper ends of these parallel side walls 22 and 23 are spaced slightly apart from and closely positioned adjacent the underside of the relatively flat portion I2 of the stencil holding frame it). A metal strip 243 is provided with a central flat portion 25 across the top thereof, and the end portions 28 and 2? are bent downwardly to an inclined position. The metal strip 24 bent as described is adapted to fit within the channel 26, and by means of oppositely disposed welds 28 and 29,

the metal strip 24 is rigidly secured to the metal U-shaped channel 28. The extremities of the bent portions 26 and2'l of the strip 24 are coextensive with the ends of the channel 29. The weld 28 thus joins the end portion 26 of the strip 24. to the perforated base 2| along their adjoining edges, and similarly the weld 29 joins the bent portion 2'! of the strip 24 to the end of the base 2! of the channel 26.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the handle H is equipped with the downwardly extending threaded stud 30 which passes loosely through an aperture 3! in the stencil holding frame i9 and thereupon threadedly engages an aperture 32 in the fiat portion 25 of the metal strip 24. Thus as the handle 1 l is screwed downwardly, the thread ed stud 3!] draws the channel and its integral metal strip 24 up against the underside of the flat portion !2 of the stencil. holding frame it.

Beneath the perforated channel 29 is positioned a felt pad 33 and beneath the pad.3'3 is a very soft and pliable sponge synthetic rubber thick pad 34. There is no adhesive or cement means for holding the pad 33 to the channel 2% nor is there any cement or adhesive means holding the sponge rubber pad 3 to the felt pad 33.

An endless piece of cloth material 35 is provided with dowel pins, preferably wooden, 36 and 31 inserted through the outer ends thereof. The one cloth-covered dowel pin 38 is placed within the channel over the side wall 22 and thence around and beneath the felt and rubber pads 33 and 34 and thereupon up the other side over the side wall 23 of the channel 26 and the dowel pin 3! turned over and lying within, the channel 20. The cloth is applied to the channel 2% and the pressure pads 33 and 34 when the channel is removed from the stencil holding frame l9. Thereafter the handle H is screwed onto the channel 20 and its unitary metal strip 23 causing the assembly of'partsas previously described.

The close proximity of the upper ends of the channel walls 22 and 23 to the underside of, the frame ll} prevents the withdrawal of the clothholding dowel rods 36 and 3'! when the device is drawn tightly together by a screwing of the handle ll downwardly. It should be understood that the diameter of the rods 36 and 3"! is greater than the space between the upper ends of the walls 22 and 23 and the underside of the, frame Hi.

The cloth 35 in addition to holding the yield-' able pressure pads in proper non-binding position beneath the perforated channel 20 also carries an ink to be imparted. to the stencil I? to effect an imprinting thereof when the stamp is urged downwardly by an operator. The ink may and does fill the porous pads 33 and 34 as a reservoir so the stencil may be used for many imprintings without reinking the device. The perforated channel 20 permits the ink free and uninterrupted passage therethrough so there'are no undesirable effects of expansion or contraction of the ink caused by making an impression of the stencil.

In the operation of the hand stamping stencil holder of this invention, the device is assembled as previously described with the cloth holding the yieldable pressure pads in aligned position beneath the channel 20. A stencil to be imprinted has one side thereof inserted in the V-slot lS-l 5 of the holding frame I0 and the opposite side is inserted in the V-slot l4l6 of frame Ill. The operator now presses theentire unit down against a surface to beimprinted, and any irregularities in. that surface; will be compensated for. by the deep sponge rubber pad 34. The omission of cements, or adhesives in the assembly of the pressure pads eliminates distortion of the pads and thus an even and uniform impression is made possible. Disassembly and replacement of any of the parts is relatively easy by reason of the unscrewing of the handle I l. Further, the stencils to be imprinted are not clamped to the device and thus they are free to align themselves over and around the ink and pressure means of thestamp. Many impressions may be made with a single stencil and thereafter the stencil may be easily removed and another inserted.

Various details of construction may be changed throughout a wide range Without departing from the principles disclosed herein, and I therefore do not propose limiting the patent granted hereon otherwise than as necessitated by the appended. claims.

What" is claimed is:

1. A hand stamping stencil holder comprising a frame, a handle mounted on said frame, spaced apart parallel flange means formed on said frame for loosely engaging the side edges of a stencil} and an inked pressure pad means carried on said:

frame between said spaced apart flange means is pressed whereby when the stencil holder against a surface the inked pressure pad causes an imprinting of the material on the loosely held stencil, said inked pressure pad means includes a perforate metal channel member opening upwardly within said frame, a strip of metal narrower than said channel member and positioned centrally therein and fixedly fastened thereto, said strip of metal defining longitudinally extending spaces along the marginal edges thereof tudinally extending spaces, whereby when said handle is in frame and channel holding position, the cloth piece is similarly locked in position and when the handle is removed the cloth piece may be. removed.

2..A device as set forth in claim 1 in which the yieldable ink holding means includes afelt:

pad and a soft pliable synthetic rubber sponge pad.

3. A device. as set forth in claim 1 in which said rods have a diameter greater than the spacing between. the tops of the sides of the perforate channel and said frame, whereby the cloth fixedly holds the yieldable means to the. perforate channel.

JAMES R. THOMAS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date.

1,230,783 Rice June 19, 191'? 1,445,447 Pritchard Feb. 13, 1923 1,549,588 Mason Aug. 11, 1925 2,030,447 Thompson May 18, 1937 2,346,023 Gold -.Apr. 4, 1944 

